Genesis 1:1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
John 1:1 IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
The word for God in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim. This is important because Elohim is a plural word which most Christian experts believe points to the eternally existing Godhead or Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God IS LOVE so He has eternally existed in RELATIONSHIP. To LOVE, we must have a subject, GOD the FATHER (the ONE who LOVES), an object, GOD the SON (the ONE who IS LOVED), and God the HOLY SPIRIT (the LOVE that is between them).
Elohim’s first creative act written about in Genesis is to CREATE the HEAVENS and the EARTH. God then said “LET THERE BE LIGHT, and there was LIGHT”. God then separated the LIGHT from the DARKNESS. What is this LIGHT and what is the DARKNESS? We know that sun that separates the light from the darkness in our world today. But look at the order of events in the Creation story.
God separated the LIGHT from the DARKNESS on the FIRST DAY, but the sun and moon were NOT created until the FOURTH day.
Genesis 1:14: Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. 17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
If God CREATED the sun and the moon on the FOURTH day, HOW did HE separate LIGHT from DARKNESS on the FIRST day? The Hebrew word for “LIGHT that was created on the fourth day in Gen. 1:14-15, is ma’owr, which is SIMILAR to the word for the LIGHT that existed on the FIRST DAY, and yet it is different. Ma’owr is a plural word that means luminary, like a candlestick or a chandelier. The sun and the moon are luminaries or light sources. In Contrast, the word for THE LIGHT that existed on the FIRST DAY (Genesis 1:3) is OWR which means “to shine” or to enlighten…
Numbers 6:25: The LORD make his face shine (owr) upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
Ezekiel 43:2: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined (owr) with his glory.
When God SPOKE “Let there be Light”, He wasn’t CREATING the Light, because the WORD OF GOD IS the LIGHT. God’s WORD is LIGHT. His GLORY is LIGHT. When the Light Shone forth at Elohim’s command, it was the LIGHT of the PRE-INCARNATE CHRIST.
On the first day of Creation, the division of LIGHT and DARKNESS is a foreshadowing (prophetic) of the physical light and darkness that was yet to be created on the 4th day. Furthermore, this “Division” will become a ‘type’ of the two spiritual states of mankind throughout history—‘light’ in Christ (Salvation) and ‘darkness’ (lost state) apart from Christ.
1 Peter 2:9: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”.
God is LIGHT, and IN HIM there is no darkness at all. God is physical light by His very nature. This is even revealed in the Old Testament by some who have stood in the Presence of His Glory. Among those affected by standing in the Presence of God was Moses. After Moses encountered God on Mt. Sinai, his face literally shone. This made people afraid and Moses had to put a veil over his face while speaking to them.
Exodus 34:29: And it came about, when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to approach him
Exodus 34:35: the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone. So Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with Him.
In the natural, light is a wave, moving at 186,000 miles per second that when it hits the retina of the eye, makes things visible. Light illuminates things. All colors depend on light. Where there is light, we see. Where there is no light, we do not see.
When the Light, the spiritual light of Christ, hits the living soul, which would be equal to the open and functioning eye, everything is illuminated in the spiritual realm. The Light, according to John, is none other than the Life – the eternal Life who is the Lord Jesus Christ – who is the Word that comes from God and who IS God.
- JESUS is the Word because in Him, God speaks.
- JESUS is the Life because through Him God gives life.
- JESUS is the Light because by Him everything in the spiritual realm is illuminated.
Apart from Jesus, there is no Word from God. Apart from Him, there is no life. And apart from Him, there is no true understanding – all is darkness.
John 1:4: “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
Light = Eternal Life = Jesus.
With Jesus there is ‘light’ and ‘life’, without Him neither can exist. This is also true of the ‘light’ of our physical world – the sun. God uses the physical world to teach us spiritual truths. Without the light of the sun (Son), everything on this planet would DIE.
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.
Light and darkness cannot dwell together. Darkness seeks to snuff out the light, but the truth is, it is the Light that illuminates and overcomes the darkness. Consider the ugly cockroaches that love to come out at night. They scurry hurredly away as soon as a light is turned on in the home. Cockroaches HATE the light because it interupts their feeding and is dangerous to their survival. Scientists think this is a sign of their “evolution” (we can say adaptation), but I have a feeling that cockroaches have ALWAYS hated the light for as long as they have existed.
Before the Fall of man, God used to walk right alongside Adam and Eve “in the cool of the day till the shadows flee away”. After the Fall, when God came into the Garden looking for Adam and Eve so that they could walk together, Adam and Eve did exactly what the cockroaches do when caught by the light….they ran and hid! In that single BITE (sin)…Adam and Eve went from being GOD-conscious to SELF-conscious.
Light reveals all things—both physical and spiritual. Like the cockroach, those who choose to live in ‘darkness’ hide from the light so that their deeds may also be hidden. However, those who love the Lord and who have been drawn ‘out of darkness’ in to ‘His marvelous light’ seek His Light that their deeds may shine.
Without Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, nothing can be good since every good and perfect thing comes from HIM. It only stands to reason then that where God is not, sin exists just as darkness “exists” in the absence of light.
James 1:17: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Adam and Eve were originally created LIGHT beings as they were created in the IMAGE of GOD, immortal, perfect. The Hebrew word for light and skin are nearly identical. Hebrew reads from right to left.
- אור “Ore” Strong’s 216 – light spelled “aleph vav resh” – rut
- עור “Ore” Strong’s 5785 – skin but is spelled “ayin vav resh” – rug
The phonetic pronunciation of these two words are identical, yet they mean two very different things. In the Hebrew, both words are spelled with a silent first letter (the aleph for “light” and the aiyin for “skin) followed by the resh. The only difference between the Hebrew words for light and skin is one SILENT letter. Many rabbis believe that Adam and Eve, being made in the image of God, went from being clothed in ore (light) to being clothed in ore (skin). Upon sinning they exchanged a nature of light for a nature of flesh. Mankind has been born in original sin (DARKNESS) ever since.
Romans 7:18: For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
Romans 7:5: For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were brought to light by the Law, were at work in the parts of our body to bear fruit for death.
The Bible says that since THE FALL, the natural condition of MAN is to be in DARKNESS, cut off from the LIGHT. This is why the natural man CANNOT understand or accept the Spiritual truths of God. The truth of God seems like foolishness to the natural man, who is living in darkness with no light to shine the truth into his life.
1 Corinthians 2:14: But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
1 Corinthians 1:18: For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Mankind LOST the light at THE FALL, which is why many did NOT recognize Jesus as the prophesied Messiah when He came on the scene. Even His own disciples did not fully UNDERSTAND that Jesus was THE LIGHT…until their eyes were opened.
Genesis 3:6: When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.
Luke 24:30: And it came about, when He had reclined at the table with them, that He took the bread and blessed it, and He broke it and began giving it to them. 31 And then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
On the Road to Emmaus immediately following Jesus’ resurrection, we see a REVERSAL of what happened in the Garden of Eden. Since the days that Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened to SIN and closed to GOD, mankind has lived in darkness. But…Jesus changes EVERYTHING! Jesus’ disciples could not really grasp Jesus’ TRUE IDENTITY UNTIL they broke bread with the Resurrected Jesus on the Road to Emmaus. The phrase “Then their eyes were opened”, the exact same phrase that we see in Genesis, describes this monumental, life-changing event. God opened the Disciples eyes in the BREAKING OF THE BREAD. Jesus is the Bread of LIFE who was BROKEN for us! When Jesus broke the Bread, the disciples FINALLY recognized HIM…and their eyes were opened. The God consciosness, the LIGHT that mankind had lost in the Garden of Eden was finally returning!
As we follow THE LIGHT, we learn that Jesus Christ, THE LIGHT of the world, has a plan to SHARE HIS LIGHT, the LIGHT that we LOST at THE FALL… with us!
On the day of Pentecost, The disciples RECEIVED the GIFT of the HOLY SPIRIT to live and dwell within their hearts…FOREVER! Even now, when we receive Jesus Christ into our hearts by BELIEVING that He came FROM the FATHER and that He is the SON OF GOD who lived a sinless life, died on an old rugged Cross to pay the debt that we all owe, and that He has RISEN to GLORY and is seated at the RIGHT HAND of the FATHER, preparing to COME AGAIN SOON to judge the living and the dead…we RECEIVE HIS LIGHT that SHINES in us!
Acts 2: When the day of Pentecost had come, they (the disciples) were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.
Colossians 1:27: To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Only after we receive Jesus Christ into our hearts and become BORN AGAIN, can we BEGIN to understand the MYSTERIES of GOD.
Daniel 2:22: “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.
John 3:3: Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Now, as Born Again Believers in Christ Jesus, we are instructed to let our LIGHT SHINE.
Matthew 5:14: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
All Born Again believers in Jesus Christ have this LIGHT within us. The world cannot see it yet, but it is there. The Light of God’s Holy Spirit illuminates the things of God, allowing us to perceive and better understand God, the Trinity, Holy Spirit, The Messiah, and other MYSTERIES of God. God’s LIGHT shines in the darkness, illuminating the TRUTH. Those who are born again have the TRUTH within them, guiding them, correcting them, helping them to become more Christ-like.
John 16:13: But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
How do we let our LIGHT shine? On this planet, we humans have a choice between darkness and light. All unbelievers are walking in darkness because they do NOT have the light, who is Jesus Christ. As we stated above, to them what we’re saying here is foolishness. Believers have the LIGHT; however, we still have to CHOOSE…how do we walk? How do we live our lives? Do we TRUST and LISTEN to the LIGHT within us, or do we walk by the flesh, which is still in darkness?
Walking (LIVING) by the flesh (DARKNESS) brings DEATH, but walking (LIVING) by the SPIRIT (LIGHT) brings ABUNDENT LIFE. Christians who CHOOSE to walk by the flesh have their minds set on death, and therefore run the risk of hearing “Depart from me you evildoer, I never Knew you“. The word “Knew” implies an intimate relationship, so Jesus is telling these people that He never had an intimate relationship with them.
Galatians 5:16: But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.
Galatians 5:19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, 20 idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.
1 John 2:9: The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.
God’s LOVE FOR US saves us by HIS GRACE as a FREE GIFT, but once we are saved, we need to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. We need to let our light SHINE! born again Christians are the only LIGHT left in this COLD, dark world…THE LAST BASTIONS OF TRUTH AND LIGHT. ✨✨✨
If self-proclaimed believers continually choose fleshly desires over God’s Spiritual warnings and direction, then it is very likely that they do NOT grasp, even the tiniest amount, what Christ really did for us..and this makes them like an unbeliever. This does NOT mean that we have to be perfect, or that we can save ourselves…because we can’t. But it DOES mean that when we are given CHOICES on HOW to live, we should CONSIDER and CHOOSE JESUS. Holy Spirit will guide us, and God’s Word will be illuminated like never before. However, even with God’s Spirit, we will “mess up” regularly and choose the flesh. When we do this, Holy Spirit will convict us (show us our sin), and help us to repent and go a different direction. This is our walk of progressive sanctification. God does not expect sinless perfection from us because He knows that is not possible however, He does LOVE a contrite and repentant HEART.
At this time, God’s LIGHT is within our hearts and is only visible to the world in the CHOICES that we make, the words that we speak, and basically the WAY that we LIVE our lives. We should LOOK different than the world. We should abstain from sinful passions and deeds of the flesh. Love, kindness, FORGIVENESS, and grace should define our walk with Christ. Christians are told to LOVE all people, brothers and sisters in Christ, neighbors, and even our enemies. A tall order that would be impossible without the help of the Holy Spirit. Christians are also expected to walk by and believe the TRUTH of God. The only source of REAL TRUTH is GOD’S WORD…NOT the MEDIA, NOT “ACADEMIA”, NOT GOVERNMENT or even SCIENTISTS. It is true that scientists and others CAN gain SOME understanding of our PHYSICAL world, BUT unless they too have THE LIGHT, they cannot GRASP the spiritual realm.
When the Truth of God’s Word comes in conflict with someone’s LIFESTYLE, we need to remember our words are supposed to be GRACE sprinkled with SALT, where GRACE represents God’s MERCY, HIS COMPASSION, and unconditional LOVE, and SALT represents GOD’S TRUTH.
John 13:35: By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.”
Colossians 4:6: Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
As we continue to follow the LIGHT, we discover that there is extremely GOOD NEWS for those who have THE LIGHT and extremely BAD NEWS for those who do not.
For those who have the light, we will be TRANSFORMED physically to match the beauty that is within us. Yes, our God has an eye for beauty. Jesus has a PLAN to transform our physical bodies into CONFORMANCE with HIS GLORY. We might even shine outwardly like Jesus did at the Mount of Transfiguration, when God changes our skins of flesh back into something like Adam and Eve had when they were FIRST CREATED as beings of LIGHT!
Matthew 17: Six days later, Jesus *took with Him Peter and James, and his brother John, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.
Philippians 3:20: For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
Isaiah 60:1: “Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Revelation 21:10: And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and ITS LAMP IS THE LAMB. (tfj: Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God)
But for those who REFUSE THE LIGHT, there awaits only judgement and OUTER DARKNESS, a thick and frightening darkness that can be FELT. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy! 😱
1 Samuel 2:9 9He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. “It is not by strength that one prevails;
Matthew 22:13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
2 Peter 2:17: These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.
Revelation 16:10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony
For now, we have both LIGHT and DARKNESS in the world, The Tree of LIFE and the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We get to CHOOSE. However, the day is rapidly approaching when the LIGHT of the world will be REMOVED from the earth at the time of the Resurrection and the Rapture. After this, evil will be unrestrained and darkness, total darkness will reign on the earth. But still, even this period called the GREAT TRIBULATION ….PALES in comparison to an ETERNITY in OUTER DARKNESS.
